


Donuts and Comic Books

by Katiebug445



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, LingFan - Freeform, LingFan Week, finally some fluff without angst!, ps rebecca is totally working with havoc because they're dating but shh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 10:15:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11507325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katiebug445/pseuds/Katiebug445
Summary: Ling works at a small cafe after enrolling in college. When he first sees the beautiful girl working across the street, he knows he has to talk to her, even if he knows next to nothing about her world.





	Donuts and Comic Books

LanFan took a moment outside the door to collect herself, rehearsing what she was going to say over and over in her mind, before heading inside. For half a second, her fingers hesitated on the handle, unsure if she was prepared enough for this or not. What if they didn’t like her? What if she wasn’t cut out for dealing with people all the time like this, despite how much fun the perks sounded? What if, what if, what if… 

 

This was the perfect job for her, she told herself. It was better than working fast food, wasn’t it? At least here, she’d be working with her own kind; geeks were hard to come across in this city. Giving herself a small shake, she pushed her doubt to the back of her mind and pushed the door open. 

 

There was a man sitting at the counter with his arms folded across the glass with his chin resting on them. When he heard the door, he looked up, giving her a welcoming smile. “Long time no see, LanFan!” he greeted, wheeling himself out from behind the counter. “We were starting to wonder if we’d lost you to the normal world.” 

 

“Of course not! Normal people are too boring!” she replied. The smell of ink on paper - both new and old - filled her nose, and it helped calm her down some. This was where she belonged, she knew it. “I actually had a question for you.” 

 

The man raised an eyebrow, his blue eyes shining and a small smirk on his lips. “If you’re wondering if you’re invited to the staff party screening of Wonder Woman, I hate to break it to you, but you have to actually, you know,  _ be _ staff. No matter how much we would like to have you there.” 

 

“That’s actually what I wanted to ask about.” LanFan made her way over to him, trying to keep the pleading tone out of her voice as she launched into her speech. “You guys have been understaffed here since I’ve been coming in. Three people isn’t enough to run this place - especially on New Comic Day. And I know the ins and outs of how things are run here enough that you wouldn’t have to train me too much… I also really need a job.” 

 

He was quiet for a second or two before letting out a small chuckle. “Are you just wanting to get hired so you can see Wonder Woman a day early with all of us?” 

 

“No!” She exclaimed. “Okay, a small part of me is, but you know me well enough that you know I’m being serious about this. I’ve been coming in here since I was old enough to read. I, personally, have probably been half the reason you guys have been in business this long. My grandfather’s house is full of boxes of comics, figurines, and board games that have all come from this place. It’s to the point he said if i bring another one home, he’s gonna start charging me for rent.” 

 

The man considered this. “I don’t know, Lan…” 

 

“Please, Mr. Havoc.”

 

Havoc drummed his fingers across the arm of his wheelchair, eyes flashing between her and the display beside her. “Promise you won’t abuse your discount.” 

 

“I promise!” 

 

“And you won’t fight customers on New Comic Day if they take the issues you want.”

 

“I’ll try my best.” 

 

“You know dressing up is mandatory during Comic Con week, right?” He asked. 

 

LanFan sighed, rolling her eyes at him. “If I wasn’t prepared to cosplay, I wouldn’t have a closet full of fabric and a sewing machine set up in my room.”

 

Havoc grinned at her, unlit cigarette nearly falling out of his mouth, and held out his hand. “You’re hired.” 

 

~

He needed a job. That was the first thing on his mind after he moved into his dorm. The room was so small, he barely had room to turn around between the two beds on opposite walls. A small desk was squeezed between his bedframe and the window, with a small stool stuck under it. They would have to share it, but that was okay. His roommate, he thought, barely passed 5’0”, and wouldn’t take up too much space. 

 

Ling got to work on setting up his bed, taking careful time to make sure the sheets were just right before plopping down and looking around. He’d done it. He’d broken away from his family and made it out here on his own. He was completely cut off from his father, now, but that was okay. It would be worth it in the end. 

 

His hand reached out, feeling the sheets beneath him, and an odd feeling of pride swelled in his chest. The mattress and the sheets were his first big purchase he’d made on his own. He’d snagged the desk from a thrift store a few blocks away, and found the stool in the trash, so those didn’t count. Everything about his bed was  _ new. _ It was  _ exciting _ . 

 

Ling found out pretty quickly that he wanted to keep buying new things to make his stay here a little more comfortable, but in order to do that, he needed work. And work around a college campus wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to find. Still, he figured he’d try. 

 

~ 

A couple days and a hint from his roommate later, he found out that the small donut shop just off campus needed a replacement after one of the employees got splashed with oil from the deep fryer and was now in the hospital for third degree burns. Despite the panic he felt at possibly being taken out by the same machine that already had one victim under its belt, the prospect of free donuts won out in the end, and he found himself applying immediately. 

 

He was hired within the week. 

 

~ 

On the slow days, Ling found himself staring out the window, watching people walk by the window and wondering what they where they were headed with their days, what would happen to them after they left his sight, and if they cared they were being watched by bored strangers. 

 

He rested his arm on the counter, his chin in his hand, and leaning heavily against the glass when he first saw her. The girl across the street, at the comic book store, grinning and laughing with a man in a wheelchair. He immediately straightened up, eyes never leaving her face, how it scrunched up a little when she laughed or smiled. Her dark hair was falling a bit into her eyes, and it was falling out of the bun atop her head, but she didn’t seem like she minded too much. 

 

She was beautiful. 

 

~

He found himself watching her every minute he could spare, the mysterious girl that worked across the street. She always had a smile for whoever came up to her counter, and whenever there was a lull in her day, she bustled around the shop, helping out the wheelchair man, or the dark haired woman who worked alongside them. She never seemed to slow down. 

 

Sometimes she would leave work before him, and he would watch her as she unlocked her bike from the front of the store, get on, and ride off. He wished he could see her a bit longer as she rode off, but unless he wanted to be obvious he was watching her, he couldn’t exactly do that. 

 

~ 

The routine continued for nearly two months before he finally had enough. 

 

On his break, Ling marched himself across the street, walked directly into the comic book shop, and up to the counter. Her back was to him for a brief moment, but she quickly turned around, and he was slapped in the face with the full effect at how pretty she really was. 

 

Dark brown eyes framed by a small heart-shaped face, hair flying in all directions and hanging close to her eyelashes, that tiny, startled smile to show he’d taken her by surprise. It took him a moment to remind him what he was doing there, and he realized right then and there that he couldn’t exactly just ask her out. 

 

“Can I help you?” She asked sweetly. 

 

It took another second or two to remember how his voice worked. Ling cleared his throat. “Yes, I was wondering if you guys had any…” his eyes darted quickly around, looking for any kind of symbol he recognized, before finally landing on a semi-familiar red S. “Uh… Superman comics?” 

 

The girl blinked, as if she hadn’t heard him right, and came out from behind the counter. “You mean only one of the most popular faces in comic book history? That Superman?” She shot him a quick teasing grin and led the way to the back, pointing at a section of the rack on the wall that was stuffed full of the comics. “Anything in particular you’re looking for, or just curious?” 

 

“My, uh, my roommate really likes superheroes… he won’t shut up about them, actually. I just… kinda wanted to know what the hype was about.” 

 

“Well,” she started, relaxing her stance a little, “is your roommate a Marvel or DC kind of person?” 

 

“Uh… whichever one these are..” he pointed to the Superman and Batman comics. 

 

“Well, then, Superman is a good place to start.” Lanfan replied, hoping she was being helpful. “He’s the typical good guy, everything you’d expect a hero to be. But it’s a little predictable, too. Batman is a bit darker, I personally think he’s a bit more interesting. Then you have Green Lantern, Aquaman, The Flash, and my personal favorite… Wonder Woman.” 

 

That was a name he’d heard before somewhere. Hadn’t Edward compared his girlfriend to Wonder Woman once? “What’s her story?” 

 

The girl looked shocked by that question. “What’s her story? You mean you don’t know who she is? How can you not know?! I have to show you.” She grabbed him by the arm, dragging him a little farther down the row, and not stopping until she landed on a graphic novel of her origin story. “Dianna. Wonder Woman. She’s only the greatest superhero of all time, and my lord and savior.” 

 

She cracked open the novel, and began telling him everything she knew about the heroine. He couldn’t help but think the way her eyes lit up as she got into her explanation was completely adorable, the rise and fall in her voice, the way she spoke about this Amazon fighter, was filled with a passion he only wished he had. 

 

When she stopped for a breath, he quickly checked his watch and swore internally. He had about a minute to get back to work before he was in trouble. He needed to get back. Before she could get started again, he held out his hand. “I’m Ling, by the way. Ling Yao.”

 

“LanFan.” she replied, looking up at him with a light shade of pink coloring her cheeks. 

 

“Well, LanFan, I need to get back to work before my boss realizes I’m missing, but, I work across the street. If you’re up for some free donuts and a continued conversation about Dianna, I’m over there ‘til eight.” Ling took the graphic novel from her, tucked it under his arm, and walked up to the counter. 

 

She rang him up, handed him the book, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You weren’t bored by it?” 

 

“Not at all! The way you explain it, I might actually be able to get a grasp on what my roommate is talking about sometimes.” he shot her a quick smile, and started towards the door. “My offer still stands, if you want it?” 

 

Her only reply was to return his smile before he took off, and she watched him cross the street back to his own shop. She took a breath, and thought that maybe a donut after work didn’t sound too bad after all. 


End file.
